Transformers More Than Meets the Eye #1

This second all-new ongoing Transformers title reunites the fan-favorite creative team behind Last Stand of the Wreckers and sends the Transformers on an epic quest to the farthest reaches of the Transformers Universe and beyond! The adventure starts here!

Regardless of one’s opinion of the Chaos arc in the recent ongoing series, it served its purpose of ending the IDW Transformers saga that has been rolled out since 2005. By taking Optimus Prime and all of the previous major Decepticon/evil threats from the last seven years out of the equation, IDW has given themselves the ability to create fresh new stories without being bound by ties to the past. IDW capitalizes on this with their first effort of the Transformers re-launch: More Than Meets the Eye #1.

More Than Meets the Eye #1 is not a comic, at least it doesn’t feel like it. While at the standard length of 22 pages, it honestly feels like you’re reading a novel. Characterization is a plenty. Fifteen characters get big introductions and backstory, and several others are featured as instrumental to the story set up. Credit for the writing goes to James Roberts, who along with artist Nick Roche, was responsible for the story from the fan-favorite Last Stand of the Wreckers mini-series. James draws the reader in with a convincing speech from Rodimus and never slows down. Throughout the issue, he mixes in combinations of humor, pop references, fan references (Rub Signs!), intrigue, emotions, and story twists. Some Autobots, who we blindly believe to be heroic, perform questionable actions and makes one wonder if they are a potential threat to the mission at hand. An action taken by the Autobots remaining on Cybertron and the cliff hanger at the end both shocks and shakes the reader into a realization that this isn’t necessarily going to be the fun and magical ride in the quest for the Knights of Cybertron but rather a journey full of danger and disaster.

Nick Roche handles art duties for the first issue, teamed up again with his Last Stand of the Wreckers colorist Josh Burcham. Nick’s art, as always, has a unique spin on it…so you either end up loving it or hating it. Nick, just as he did in Last Stand of the Wreckers, has the ability to portray emotions in all actions his characters perform which in turn reinforces the terrific writing of robots. Josh’s colors, as always, pop right off the page.

Buy the issue. Whether you’re just continuing your Transformers comic experience, returning to the fold, or reading a Transformers comic for the first time, this is your perfect starting point. More Than Meets the Eye #1 gives us a intro story about this intriguing race of living mechanical beings who can change forms and takes us on this amazing journey. Profound and exciting moments like these are rare: the introduction of the Transformers, Beast Wars, Car Robots/Robots in Disguise (the toy line/TV series), and now….More Than Meets the Eye. If the other ongoing comic (Robots in Disguise) is anywhere near as good, 2012 will be a pinnacle year for Transformers comics.

Overall Rating: 5

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